Escape
by Senpai Capone
Summary: Henry's death. Carlo Falcone's assassination. Leo's betrayal... and now? His only best friend, Joe, was taken away from him. After he managed to stealthily reunite with Joe, Vito decides the best way to avoid any more conflict is to leave of Empire Bay for good. There were no final goodbyes before the two slipped out from under Vinci's grasp, thus venturing across America.
1. Start Over

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fa5e280a79774cf02c007161ef40692c""Alright, where to?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d544f04465bd9b982d134cf3c2989e32"Vito and Joe had finally touched ground in America. It was a pain in the ass, but the two friends had managed to get their hands on some plane tickets to New York. That was the closest they could do in terms of travel, and the cheapest tickets too./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d265100c80c9f69ea47cf0351154776f"Vito sighed, having been affected heavily by jet lag. "I don't know, Joe. We just got here. I ain't got a single clue what our first moves should be."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="053e1612bf2987fc94125cea91440958""You ain't thinkin' outside the box, then." Joe always had his way with words. "When we get to our motel, we're gonna get a plan goin'."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2f9fc4da48d6b57b7e63f6674ee9753b"The two men ended up getting a rental car at the airport. There was a small quarrel between the two on who was going to drive, as Vito was fatigue-stricken from the flight. It ended with Joe rolling his eyes and snatching the keys from the other. Vito took a small nap in the car, though it felt more like a blackout due to how tired he was. He'd never been in an airplane before, and found that boats were more convenient since seasickness wasn't an issue./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5352ada654a45ed778ffb7c15ef12620"Upon arrival, Joe nudged him. "Get up. I ain't carryin' your ass inside."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="31455222fc2f566e5540b24a19e8fedc""Okay, okay, Jesus..." Vito rubbed his eyes and slid from the car, lazily standing on his feet. The sun had already begun setting over the plain, one-story building that was their motel./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ac05ae5da4dddeb058bf8e6c586bb83a""Great..." Vito watched Joe take the keys from the front desk and head out. He followed behind, tucking his hands in the pockets of his brown leather jacket. This jacket in particular had been with him his entire career; through the elements, through bullets, through arrests, through laughter and tears. It was the jacket to last on all his adventures, and it reminded him of the good and bad times. Nothing could replace the memories he wore over his torso./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a9e639a3377bd1e7aec613dbeccd26e1"Joe unlocked the door to their motel, room 207, before entering. They looked around, noticing how incredibly dull it was. The living room had just one place to sit, a love seat, and a small TV across the room. Beside the love seat sat an antique radio plugged into a single wall outlet. The walls were wood-paneled, and the carpet was berber./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="faa136ecaa22bbc0ff95369b70bf8ffd""Oh Madonne, I know I'm gonna em style="box-sizing: border-box;"enjoy /emthis place." Vito ran his fingers through his hair before sitting on the love seat. He watched as Joe explored the rest of the motel room intently./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5a912a6608d39e303c103cdbcb6ae1e7"There was one bedroom, with one mattress and one nightstand. There was a little window, which made the room look like a bland jail cell. Joe sighed, shaking his head and entering the next room, the bathroom. Small shower, toilet, sink... barely any walking room. Probably bereft of hot water, too. The next room was the kitchen, also really small, and the oven, refrigerator and sink took up the majority of the space. He looked at the walls and noticed mold growing on the ceiling, probably from the steam due to previous tenants./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="84aaa9834cd19178982fcedf26ff8e37""This place just gets shittier and shittier, the more you look at it," Joe began as he ventured into the living room. "There ain't even a place to sit down and eat!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="342bd58f353101bef4638234cfae478d""Well, we chose this life." Vito replied solemnly. "I didn't think it'd be this way, actually. We went from a life of wealth and recognition to... em style="box-sizing: border-box;"this/em."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="87959af60ce5bec4a32e95f1279c0197""Square fuckin' one." Joe sat on the cushion beside Vito in a rough manner, as to rattle the other man./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fae9263c758a55153897998622201a44""Christ, can you not sit so close to me?" Vito began. "It's really fuckin' cramped."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="22a2b248a14f209927704d7887768a6e""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Sorry/em that there ain't nowhere else to sit!" Joe scoffed. "There ain't even extra chairs, for fuck's sake! If you hadn't been sittin' on your ass, you would'a also seen that there's only one fuckin' bed. One. That's it! The only fuckin' thing in the fridge is stale pizza and half a container of coke. So I'm really em style="box-sizing: border-box;"sorry/em that em style="box-sizing: border-box;"you/em feel cramped. The whole fuckin' place is cramped!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2643a17c5af7b11dca0fbc3de2abea3c""I get it," Vito interrupted, "our life sucks now. We have no hope anymore, and now it's all about survival. You don't need to remind me."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="17f48b7fd76d032bece5919ac9a1fcf9"The two sat in silence for several uncomfortable moments before Joe reached for the remote to turn on the TV. But alas, there were only five channels, and the best one he could find was the sports channel. The New York Yankees were playing against the Detroit Tigers this time. Vito, however, was not interested./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1374a12edb5b5d78c342dbc842b93b00"The two didn't exchange a word for about twenty minutes before Joe turned to the fatigued and upset Vito. He could see just how miserable his best friend was. They'd both dreamt of fortune and luck, and while the two had almost reached that goal, this was the price to pay for their choices./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="040759a266587a2c6c4320308de33c71"Looking down, Joe put a tender hand on Vito's shoulder, vaguely alerting him. There was an added few seconds of silence before he began speaking./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="db1bb15c23e7d73958ae409340fc53a8""I don't mean to be so fuckin' harsh," Joe started. "I'm feelin' the same way you are. We were so fuckin' close, but... like Henry used to say, shit happens."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ec17f428f23eb461ebba604cd68472b3""God, please..." Vito grimaced. "Don't talk about Henry. Seein' him on the ground covered in his own blood still fuckin' haunts me."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4e2b6907471339841212460e9a7a7f86""My point is," Joe continued, "we're just beginning. I thought we was makin' our bones in Empire Bay—"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="119da69e8ef7d669e89475c243009661""I wish it was that way," Vito replied. "And you're right, shit happens. I just don't know what we're gonna do now. Empire Bay was our em style="box-sizing: border-box;"life/em and now it's gone."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="569e3cffaa18e1590bd7009dcbc225ca""We'll make another life, make another name for ourselves. It's gonna be hard." Joe didn't know what else to say on the matter. "I know we ain't got a plan yet, and we've got nothin' goin' for us right now, but I just wanna watch the game with my pal."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a9aecf109da7654e774ae0bbc1f07fa9"Vito turned his head to look at Joe, who attempted to give him a warm smile. The hand on his shoulder went from feeling bitter to comforting. He couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth raise to reveal a smile in return, only his was much weaker than Joe's./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="16ea510383bf41b2ff2f0d9d5d64a99a""It'll be all right," Joe reassured his friend. "We have each other. We always have, and we always will."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0369492a37b58aa7f5192e69d7305d85""Right," Vito nodded. "Now, uh... can you do me a favor?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="05273374717383e2345308f57d38b7aa""Sure pal. Shoot," Joe responded./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="45f4ca9095157ed74a0142250b3cc56d""Shut up and watch the game with me."/p 


	2. The Plan

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e9c9becc0fad103cb539e9f5f33c2287"The sun shone through the small window of the bedroom and into Vito's eyes. Luckily, Joe was nice enough to let him have the bed. They made a deal to switch night after night to be fair. Whomever slept on the couch was the first to take a shower, and the one to sleep in the bed got to make breakfast the next morning. It was just the start of recreating their unbreakable team./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bbeae2f34efa06f9df8e5542bcb40414"Vito looked in the fridge to see the old pizza and coke still there. There was mold growing on the inside of the coke bottle, but maybe the pizza was still okay. There was no harm in looking. Carefully, he took the small tab and pulled it upwards with his index finger and thumb ever so cautiously. Immediately, something with eight appendages crawled out in an attempt to attach itself to Vito's hand./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b4cfb8d3960174de2fe5d74f5f04f68c""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"FUCK!/em" Vito screamed and threw his entire body backwards to get away from the spider. He ended up crashing into the stove, bumping his elbow. He hissed in agony as a painful shock ran up his whole arm. Clutching his newly bruised elbow, he took a couple breaths before grabbing a paper towel to kill the spider with./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ef24cf15daa507dfc836c5eaf35946a3"Joe had heard the scream from the bathroom and called out past the noisy water. "Vito! You all right? What the fuck happened in there?!" Just one night at the motel and already shit started happening./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="77f29b81a4c593ac5a9b08df08dcaaa1""I'm fine!" Vito called out, having bunched up the spider in a wad of paper towel. He didn't want to tell Joe that a spider was the cause of his screaming. That would surely earn him some insults./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="92f3391fc4edc63d285dce50ea7f5012"Joe had just finished up in the shower before drying himself off and wrapping a towel around his waist. He exited the cramped fortress, releasing steam into the small hallway before walking into the kitchen to be greeted with a disgruntled-looking Vito./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fdf479394cbfd05eec163aa7658e830b""We're going out," Vito started. "There ain't nothin' to eat in this dump, and spider-infested pizza ain't gonna cut it."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3f8e2e258da37ed741c8dc678e936458""I saw a café across the street. We could grab somethin' there," Joe suggested. "Maybe while we're havin' breakfast, we could get somethin' goin'."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0f3e8fd6c1766a92cc9451da0a165593""I need a shower, though," Vito began. "If there ain't hot water left, I'm kickin' your ass."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="baf9a8abed4f7a3c00c0ae51f33834a5"The diner wasn't as packed as the two thought it would be, especially for it being breakfast hour. The lack of customers was quite convenient for the friends./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2d78cb432febad7dc79e8812f402e07b""Jeez, this place is deserted," Vito muttered./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="55eb72e0c113a5c015bb5eb29069cfb1""Good. It'll give us some fuckin' privacy." Joe picked a table by the window and sat down, Vito doing the same. The view outside was lifeless; just a simple road that extended one way, the view of the decrepit motel in view, glaring at them. Vito noticed his reflection in the glass as his eyes focused. He looked tired, the dark circles under his eyes deepening. A short period of time, between when he reunited with Joe to the time they arrived in New York, really took a toll on his energy./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fd9488a087ebac05539bb0c353d90fd9"Joe noticed his friend's thousand yard glare, and cocked his head. "You see somethin'?" He attempted to follow Vito's stare, and saw nothing of great significance in his view. Once again, his friend was in the zone./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a1ec593b62dc994ac13403805e775da4""Vito," Joe spoke, "em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Vito/em. You listenin'?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="afc17e3543324c87b83b7368c628d5e8"Vito's eyes snapped over to Joe, almost irritated. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, shaking his head./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2b7cc008bf25021af5dde8fe99e35c31""Sorry... Did you say somethin' to me?" he asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="020b63ce5e4d076a2b112ba11ff93390""No, I was just wondering why you were starin' out the window. You look like you ain't got enough sleep. You're like a fuckin' zombie."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="55406369940e4ddb0fadec96f033d3ba""Yeah, well, that bed wasn't the most comfortable," Vito explained, "plus I could hear the bed rockin' next door. Kept me up for a good few hours."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="476e1ae8980366d2170fe7d731fbb0fc""Dammit! I would'a killed to hear that."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b5a4331922720fe58d4f7218b4dc47dd"The waitress walked on over and took out her notepad, chewing her gum loudly with a look of boredom on her face. "What can I get you two?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c9ec9579a01066c10fb8574cb1a758d5""Coffee," the two answered simultaneously./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1238ef8c4ccbd7390c016821284eb207"During their much needed "breakfast", the two got down to discussing their plans in terms of their stay in a new place./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="359e8c12c2de49b6ae1ab8da872153f0""I was thinkin' we could stay here for a while until things die down with Vinci," Joe started, "then when they do settle down, we could go back and settle our affairs."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="910a7bc373f318fc752eff184100653c""Seriously?" Vito retorted. "We're dead men walkin', Joe. If we step foot in Empire Bay again, you know what'll happen. Vinci will immediately come after us. Leaving the way we did, you em style="box-sizing: border-box;"know/em we're on his hit list."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="44409bd07f036ee76fdeca3ee8b0a939""What if we waited here a couple a' years, and maybe during the time, old Frank will hopefully bite the bullet. He don't got much time left ya know."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="95a6d5cc4ea76f1b505b24682cce92d3""After Vinci dies, Leo's gonna take over as don. He'll end up carrying out his affairs. And then the next guy, and the next guy, so on."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7f1c816b87390f78075a14d7ade0ea66""There's plenty a' help around here," Joe explained. "Lots more people in our line of work than you think."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0473b71d1acd2bb3a5db8f81a7e9211c""You don't have any sources here. How're we gonna find anybody?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="956b49be62999df2048eb6330ebd3b82""To hell I don't!" Joe exclaimed. "Remember when you was in the can for half a decade? Well, ah... lemme tell ya a story."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="954ce1d427316d4d8333ca609331cfbc"Vito leaned forward with his fingers entwined on the table, his eyes focused on Joe. "Oh yeah? I'm listenin'."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a4c4e9eb6cce13bfbe3b7f3e22a4de04""I had to bounce out of Empire Bay. According to Henry, Luca put a hit out on me. That was the last time I'd heard from him before flying out to Chicago for about five years. I made some friends there, earned some cash, lost some weight and banged some hookers. There are sources in Chicago that have theater and restaurant fronts. I did some odd jobs for them, came back to Empire Bay a year before you escaped. I was met with a guy names Tony Balls, who had connections with the same guys in Chicago. He told me all about Carlo Falcone, God rest his soul, and that I should side with them instead of Clemente, God rest his soul too."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c3621632ab060cf0a815b8983a6ec673""Man, sounded like you had to pull a lot of strings to get into the Falcone family. Granted it wasn't worth it in the long run."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="43357c45faaa83e6d16fd4ccb93b2dd3""I can pull more strings if I have to. Trust me, it ain't that difficult." Joe sipped at his coffee once more before setting down the mug. "There are three guys out there I know."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5d03efece81b516a931f9bbd0d4747ae""What're their names?" Vito asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bc92974d82d3a23bebc8021735107f9a""There's John Silvia. He runs the casinos in Las Vegas. He owns another home in Chicago just so he doesn't have to stick around in Nevada. Things can get pretty heated down there, he says. He's consigliere to someone named don Enzo."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a7acddeb74cee6bb7d405bc9d5720c59""Okay. What about the other guys?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e7c645db9d6e174c45699f0ea9c2a484""The underboss, Greg Castanzo. Runs the theater, has three wives in three different states. He's a real piece a' work. But don't get too fresh with him; he's quick to bite."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4d7225c99febb157b2e4dea5e3fd5a06""The last one is a guy named Fernando Martino. He has his own line of cigars and makes big bank off of them. He's got kind of a coke problem, so if he acts funny, don't judge him. He helps John run the casino sometimes, and pays the escorts. These guys really know their shit, but they're not as bad as they look. Don Enzo keeps 'em in line, though."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="99904439cd0265e51dd3dde9cb5c16c3""So, what're you sayin'?" Vito retorted. "We should start workin' for Enzo?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fc87bfa2ea5bc0319909ea5f8e7d0be1""If that's our only option. Hell, I wouldn't mind."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="915eac82c944e1318322173d864d92dd"Vito looked down at his coffee, which he hadn't finished yet. He'd drank about half of it, and now it was lukewarm. Being strong, he knocked back the beverage, not enjoying the taste all that much. The waitress didn't have the common courtesy to give them sugar./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="87ea7602ef49f291c5aa60d0460949b6""Let's get out of here," Joe began, standing from his seat, "my ass is goin' numb from these wooden chairs."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="89b434a1fb4333fe104889486b740670"Vito arose, and faced Joe. "Hey, could we not go back to the motel? The fuckin' place depresses me."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cfeed1ac1b8815d5e716a65af5be25b4""You read my fuckin' mind." Joe replied. "So, where to then?"/p 


	3. Sunset

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="73e8de616e376149cfe7498e2f8d84ab"Both of them didn't make an objective to go anywhere in particular. They thought it would be a good idea to drive around until they found a nice and isolated place just to hang out. Somewhere with no buildings, cars or people./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0724d5325839f6ff8f04d521f8da0d6b"They chose to park their car by the park and walk around some. Joe told Vito all about his time in Chicago; about the time where John ended up in the E.R. for knocking himself out while attempting to pole dance. How Fernando snorted a whole line of coke and stabbed his own hand playing knife roulette. And last but not least, Greg stealing a cop car, driving it out to a cornfield and filling the back seat full of pigs as a way to insult the police. Vito chuckled at the stories, wishing he would have been there to see Joe in action, to fight and flourish by his friend's side, to grow even more with him. In return, Vito told Joe of his prison stories, and how Leo never dropped the soap even once, and that the joke in itself was dead to him. There weren't many interesting stories, other than repetitive fights in the courtyard, where money and cigarettes were bet./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ae382fcce6d1b7911a7d2f70c53a4715"Hours later, after having themselves a healthy lunch consisting of hot dogs from a nearby lunch vendor, they drove once more until they found a desolate hill. The sun had begun setting, so the view was a splendid mixture of crimson, gold and a dash of blue where the daytime sky faded. From where they sat in the grass, they received the entire picture./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a87b5ffe3a2aa26d34389917b0660783""This sure beats the reality of being in New York," Vito began, "what with everything being inhabited by grey buildings and obnoxious people."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a9499327d6f74299e05886f50f8c231c""Hey, New York isn't all that bad!" Joe boasted. "Well, it ain't no Chicago, but the bigger parts of it are interesting."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1bbc75d8a9ec4753855b752fdfb1656d""Uh huh." Vito faced forward, watching the sun slowly sink beneath the horizon as it turned from gold to pink. He continued his thousand yard stare, the distant star causing a spot to burn in his vision./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="034f1d9fb66695446a49855effc47fed""Hey, you keep starin' at the sun like that, you'll go blind." Joe teased his friend, nudging him playfully./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3f64b830e9d3addcad611a80d15c7260"Vito let out a sarcastic chuckle before returning to his stoic expression. Joe immediately knew there was something on his friend's mind, and put a tender hand on his shoulder./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="571bc6c6c66db931099d2311e5642a7d""You've been actin' strange all day," Joe began, "is there somethin' on your mind?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="be1102e66b8d64c5c25cacdb546e72bf""I'm just... this's a new adjustment for me..." Vito explained solemnly. "Kinda getting homesick, to be honest."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="87a171655e9e96c20a186f0e85bc26a1""So am I." Joe admitted. "But, we'll make a new home here. Not necessarily here in New York, but, uh..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c59a190e27d69ffebdc4277f5cccfef5""But where?" Vito asked. "I'm a little more grounded than you, ya know. I need someplace to call my home, and it ain't gonna be that shitty motel."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="86fb234ee02783e5072682a40b91e891"Joe felt his heart drop. He knew just how much Vito wanted a complete life, a place to settle down, and to feel fulfilled. That was all he wanted, while Joe had a hankering for adventure. It was a shame, really, how much Vito just wanted to stay in one place instead of explore. Though, it may have just been Vito being stubborn and homesick. This wasn't necessarily an easy transition; it was simply done for survival./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2a7f581e1e914069602cdf28a57ccb0e""It's going to be okay," Joe reassured him, "I promise. When we make big money off of Enzo's guys, we'll find a place to settle down, a permanent home. Even while we're livin' someplace nice, I still wanna explore and make big memories with you. You're my best friend, and I can't let my time with you go to waste."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9dacb1a5a0f9b3eb650658eb42e43c77"That statement heightened Vito's mood a tad bit, but there was still something on his mind. Something that kept him unsettled.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d0ca2b7669509695c77177f15c1bd9d5""Hey, Joe," he started. "I have somethin' to ask you."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3f6b0bbe6ba6a693ca454f3447fd2635""Shoot."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8a79b4f1416eb195ee9c26e8a9617f05""If you had such a great time over in Chicago," Vito began, "and you made a whole lot 'a friends, a bunch of money, and were on the cusp of being in Ezo's family, then why did you come back to Empire Bay? You could have become a big shot there instead of working for Carlo and Eddie."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e1feaaab465d88bfbf28350d860e905c""That would mean leaving behind my only best friend." Joe answered./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="04bf91029a65a821ddd79093ae179c53""Really?" Vito was surprised. "I'm sure you would'a found someone more interesting and cooler than me. I'm not the most exciting person to be around. In fact, I feel like I'm dragging you down sometimes."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6179ad913adcbed10d0f85fb3e853b96""Hey." Joe formed a stern voice, pointing his index finger at Vito. "Don't you be fuckin' sayin' that. The history I have with you can't hold a candle to the things I've done with John, Greg, and Fernando combined. I had fun with those guys. I did business with those guys. You and me? We've been through it all; hot and cold, thick and thin, for better and for worse. Our friendship is sealed in the foundation that is fuckin' concrete. Never in a million years would I ever think about leavin' behind my best friend for some guys in Chicago. What kind of man would I be if I left you when you was at your most vulnerable? I'm nothing but grateful to have you as my best friend, and I'd trade you for nothing, and I mean nothing."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6d9ffaf0e693edf5a1eef16c5419a19f"Vito felt his throat tighten. He'd never heard more heartfelt words exit that man's mouth. It made his eyes burn, so he shut them tight./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="13e45793da78e622c912f18aa86407b8"Once more, Joe placed his hand on Vito, only this time on his back. "I love you, Vito." He took a pause. "...like a brother."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1a8b534a545e935ba5681238154fb0a7""You too," was all Vito managed to choke out without giving the indication that he was about to cry./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="279050b240e03f91cd17ea690cbdf9c1"Joe ushered a smile in an attempt to shift the mood. "How about we go back to the motel. "I'm fuckin' tired, and I wanna be back before it gets dark."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="59765f80f53e177ad163212461ba378f""Hm, yeah. Sure." Vito responded./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9be8933a1f8289dc3bcdac9d4f811967"As the two friends wandered off to their car, Joe put an arm around Vito in a playful manner, and the other reciprocated. They shared a few laughs before Joe spoke up./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="07fab65d06feaaacd4711ac0190cc874""Tonight, it's your turn with the couch."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8bdd6f58f19e9b9c33f43197877cb2ba""It'd sure as hell better be comfier than the mattress," Vito replied. "Damn thing feels like I was sleepin' on a board."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c825acc8787ead5bb0eb4f9ab9136cec"And just as they drove off, the sun had completely dipped below the horizon, swallowing the last of the evening's crimson sky, filling the atmosphere with a twinkling darkness./p 


	4. Phonecall

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2723461f41437ebe61151117a3e7b7c5""Fuckin' dog..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="465a3ae3ac6e6f06c297726b44ce541c"Joe awoke with a headache as the neighbors' dog started barking obnoxiously. He sat on the edge of the bed and groaned, his back and neck aching from the thin mattress. He could feel the springs that held it up, and how now and then they impaled his back. He had to be careful as to how and where he moved at night as to not hurt himself. Overall, he would have rather slept on the small love seat./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="731cc6eec329880d45b95dc125f83eaa"He wandered out of the bedroom and spotted Vito curled up on the sofa. Joe was nice enough to loan him a pillow for the night, and one of the blankets that he managed to find while rummaging around in the closet. His friend was still sound asleep, his eyelids fluttering now and then. Joe contemplated taking a shower, but it was Vito's turn at doing so./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7fa0fee72048ebef1821d4a988887be1"He looked back in the refrigerator, hoping some decent food would magically appear. He knew that the disgusting pizza and moldy coke were still there, but when he opened the door, he was met with a surprise./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0d54ad89fb8f18ffa4a175b765bfa144"The fridge had some vegetables, milk, eggs and other kinds of nutritional foods. How in the world did they get in there?/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="aee5bb0f9758e9dde1d350d3cabd93eb"On the inside of the door was a sticky note, which Joe plucked from its place and read. His eyes scanned it, and he noticed that it was Vito's handwriting./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="084ba1081ceaf3b445025495aab47b1a""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Joe, if you're reading this, I wanna tell you how grateful I am to be your friend, and that I'm excited to start this new adventure with you. Anyways, while you were out cold, I went and bought some groceries. That way we don't starve. By the way, it's your turn to cook breakfast. Make whatever you like./em"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1c30e65ec7fecc93665f675c4ab03130"Joe's heart felt warm as he read the note. Walking out in the living room, he spotted Vito still fast asleep, and smiled. He'd never want to give up his time with him, no matter what./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="dc8a02a371342de04c0835f68765c53a"About twenty minutes later, Joe had prepared a plate full of flapjacks doused in hot maple syrup with a dab of melted butter atop the stack. He thought that the smell of the pancakes would awaken his friend, but alas, Vito stayed in a coma. Joe decided to let him sleep, since he partook in filling the fridge./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d76d9cce019f98fe38e46316a6e25be2"There was no dining room or a table to eat, so he stood at the counter and enjoyed his own plate of pancakes, with a side of orange juice, just to pass the time. Once he was finished, he returned to the living room. Approaching the sleeping Vito, he rustled his fingers through his hair./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="46bd87ac0c298bd23e57c4c4e5b5fbad""Wake up," Joe started, "your pancakes are gettin' cold."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="17bb003cb80d029f6e13913ce2d69cbb""Hmm... five more minutes..." Vito mumbled, throwing a part of the blanket over his head and going back to sleep. Joe stood there and watched him, crossing his arms. He looked at the wall clock, watching the second hand tick by. At some point, he nudged Vito with his foot./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e1307cc5c7943ead03b96cda7c98cabb""Get the fuck up, it's been five minutes. Let's go." Joe grinned, taking joy in pestering his friend./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="df43bb3598dcd9b11fadb8e6bde7edc5""Hah hah... fuck you..." Vito grumbled./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="120840b712e4a5682efd61629547f11e"Joe sat down on the couch in a rough manner before bouncing up and down, letting loose several grunts and choice words from Vito./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="97ebc629ec84b91c8d5c090566c007f4""Alright! Alright! I'm up, fuck!" Vito kicked a laughing Joe off the couch before throwing the blanket aside and sitting on the edge, rubbing his tired, frustrated eyes./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0d7d25d0db281b8c91cadfd5ee57e492""Sorry I had to wake you up like that. I made breakfast." Joe stood up and brushed himself off. Vito was a feisty one when he was tired./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0f49ac4b4018ead4f942b0fb78644000""Yeah, thanks..." Vito sighed before walking into the kitchen. His steps were wobbly, but he made it an objective not to fall over or run into objects./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3300d74b08a6c3a320ea91b7bc1321cb""Made 'em just how you like 'em; thick and fluffy." Joe was proud of his cooking, even though pancakes were quite easy to make./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ff42cff89e74403ee27d70453425798b""Uh huh..." Vito forked a good amount of pancakes onto his plate before returning to the love seat and eating. He gazed into space while putting each syrupy bite into his mouth, his hair awry from a deep slumber./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="079e1dbe6a95352c9d89d88efdb2fac4""While you're eating, I'm gonna make some phone calls," Joe began, "that way, we can get back on our feet in terms of having jobs."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="43d4f9e2c6c982ca22b9760ebc89368c""Uh... Joe?" Vito started. "The motel ain't got a phone..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a2c1fd757ed80d2216daaefa2a6f55e9""Shit. Well, I guess that means I'll need to scavenge for some loose change. You got any quarters?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="da3255baae35cfa2c71abe6d15f3adad"Vito stood watch as Joe slid the quarters into the coin slot. He dialed somebody's number, pressing the receiver against his ear and waiting for an answer./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0bddb3a0594ab9e908766f413a07aec1"There wasn't much to look out for. Vito simply glanced at a barren street now and then to make sure no one would approach them. This was a confidential kind of phone call./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e5bd4426f46e0b1c66130ea351996fa1""Hey, John," Joe started, "it's Joe. Listen, I've got an issue. No, I ain't in jail. You see, some shit went down, and my friend and I are in a pickle. Currently, we're in New York, and we're out of work."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cf81e42677c07c935e5ebb9d869f9b9b"Vito listened in on the conversation, squinting suspiciously. He knew Joe was wise enough to know his people, but Vito wasn't so trusting. After Clemente tried fucking them over, after Vinci kidnapped them, and after Carlo betrayed them, Vito had lost his trust for dons. If Enzo was a good guy, then his faith would be restored./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="22ecf62aa16280a062e2ec92de7d5209""Yeah, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"that/em guy," Joe replied. "You know, the one who was in prison. He's all I've got, and we just had a bad experience with our last family. We got lucky and now we're here. Are you guys still stationed in Chicago?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="08a1f2dee19442664325396f996ed1c3"Vito looked down at his nails, noticing the underside of them were filling with dirt. He hadn't given himself the time to take care of his body through all the stress and anguish. After this one phone call, he knew that he and Joe would be back in business, and back in health./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d2607253a747ee660a667a2c3b9791c7""Good... how're the kids?" Joe had trailed off from having a professional conversation with John to talking about domestic things. Vito rolled his eyes and pat Joe on the shoulder./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e1faaab6f377954af5dd5d00fc54373e""Hey, what's the verdict?" he asked, growing a little impatient./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="34890ce40bec73c68468d371c3047ba5"Joe, in response, lifted his index finger. "Yeah? Oh, hold on..." He turned to Vito and held his hand over the phone so John wouldn't hear his side conversation./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="13f2d37acab4d79156c429883576b9b1""John's gonna put a good word in for the other two, including don Enzo. They know me, they know how I work, so they shouldn't have any problems with you."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2159e255b688e6261d7cfe044de21017""So... does that mean we can get the hell outta here soon?" Vito crossed his arms. "Two days and I'm already sick of New York."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="18a3cbc49711cc1ef7780c95e24dcf6c""Yeah, but we'll be here longer if you keep complainin'." Joe returned to the phone. "I'm still here. I have him with me. Anyways, we'll try to find a way out there. Chicago ain't too far, but it'll be a few days since we get there."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="eda1dac83a35459ddcbb14b0dfad4f15"Vito heard the last part and raised an eyebrow. Joe hung up and exited the phone booth./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="940d33c95853c8bc6435933a93b655c7""And?" Vito started./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="272d28326a2c94779facedea4ad890b1""If you and I impress them again," Joe began, "Enzo's gonna put us on the payroll. All we gotta do is go out to Chicago and do a couple jobs for him."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0e4c4a939fc9ac8fb618779a76e2b77b""What about the part where you said that it'll take a couple days for us to get there? Ain't we gonna take a plane?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4957fec828bfa7930d336202a237451e""We already took one flyin' here to New York just to get out of Empire Bay. Now, this is where the real trip begins."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bdfb975a1bad270791e471bb197e1251""Real trip?" Vito was utterly confused./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ef88a8c9ef8d11f0708fa1118562613f"Joe held the keys before Vito's eyes. They were the same ones used for the rental car. "We're goin' on a road trip."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="acb1901506910a887c03dfd92b95edbe""Road trip?! Wait, we didn't plan no road trip comin' here!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d0de91ca6309dfe4cdff7bf06993365b""We planned for an adventure." Joe corrected him. "And that's exactly what we're gonna get. We leave tomorrow."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3f1e1187a6fd8bcaed337d9b030880f2""Okay, fine, but in a rental car?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f782c38f29f40fc3b23d580fd4a2e05e""Once we make bank, we'll get ourselves some decent wheels." Joe crossed his arms. "Honestly Vito, I ain't see you complain this much."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d5291e560dda3df53a866f12e612a2b5""Ugh, whatever, sorry. It's all goin' so fast, and you're the one in charge."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7daac33f9c26252869c96f083b89baeb""Hey, remember when I said everything was gonna be all right?" Joe grinned. "I meant it."/p 


	5. Road Trip

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c5c47253e55b43dc6524db760f6aa2f6""You're heads, I'm tails."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c82396e22aba729e7aa282d8c973999d"The first half of the trip would be the longest, so Joe and Vito flipped a coin to see who would be the first to drive. Of course, the coin landed on heads. Vito was the one to drive./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="585f6bce471f3450e3b43213447136ea""Great..." He got in the front seat of the rental car and turned the key in the ignition. "But I'm pickin' the tunes."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9cd461b5badc09459f87712afa2af27d"Three hours along, and the two talked and listened to music. Joe fed Vito the notion that their road trip would be fantastic, and shared his excitement. In turn, Vito told him not to get his hopes up./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7bd7f127b8730b82f1ba5b538c62114d""You ain't met don Enzo yet, and you're already judgin' him." Joe scoffed. "What's with you? Carlo tries splittin' us apart and now you're stubborn."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7de4957851231df31eb2ab4b7f74f0ad""It wasn't just Carlo, need I remind you." Vito frowned, keeping his eyes focused on the road. "There was Clemente. Remember him? How he tried to get Luca to suck ten grand off of us just to join the family. And let's not forget about Frank Vinci, the one who had his guys kidnap and beat the shit out of us on top of his unfinished mall. It's no surprise how little I trust them."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="49737cd2064817db18042044b408a9a1""I assure you, Enzo ain't like that. John and the other two told me all about him. He's a cool guy and really knows his shit. He took real good care of me while I was away for some years."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0ed42eea55a92213c2276314730e25be""I don't know if this comes as a surprise to you, Joe," Vito began, "but Carlo and Eddie treated you a hell of a lot differently than they treated me."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0196e050f775948ea41a1c3a6822cc2e""How so?" Joe grew suspicious of Vito's skepticism./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0ac8154e7d1ecd83bc09f6d45813edb5""Well," Vito started, "the cathouse. You and Eddie had loads of fun and drank together while I did my own thing. Also, Carlo was willing to give you the position of caporegime, but wanted to kill me in the process."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cd65975e81ddc4b36ff333ea4f76fbf9""What's your point?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f7bb20b1802247a1ede3eeb236c68dd6""My point is, the same guys who like you might not like me."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6e3a22a537127f0b6c321709a2520ecf""Don't worry about it!" Joe insisted. "If they got a problem with you, I'll straighten 'em out. Besides, that shouldn't be an issue. I told them all about who you are, what you stand for. I told them you was in the army, and got the purple heart. Greg himself was in the Navy."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="94b4d68086922d2b6c17cd803c7ee031""Huh. So you and them had nothing but good things to say about me." Vito squinted at the road before him./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f1ad5ea6128b1cce1fd917549e261993""There ain't nothin' to be afraid of. I don't know how many times I have to say that." Joe finished his statement by pulling a pack of Blues out of his pocket. He took a cigarette and put it in his mouth, lighting the end. Vito couldn't help but bite his bottom lip and glance over at him a few times. He didn't want to say anything until Joe held out the pack./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8d2be6cbc0d278ff27dc0cbe93b02aa7""Thanks." Vito took one, sticking it between his teeth. "Light it for me, I'm drivin'."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b6ca3e3a6cee7dad52e895ef65873642"About five hours of driving, and three pit stops later, they ended up in Pennsylvania. With their car parked near a restaurant, Joe had himself another cigarette, while Vito went in to grab lunch. It didn't take long before he returned to the car with two bags of food./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cb552513176e12a998cdce696f8b276f""Hey," Joe started, "how about we drive somewhere nicer. That way we can eat this shit in peace."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="788cd0e664476e2a0d22009139c2a4b2""We can't waste any time, Joe. The drive is about twelve hours. Can't we eat in the car?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6a9bc05e760a5f59f8c89eed53c03a7a""You can't eat and eat drive!" Joe laughed. "C'mon. I heard there's a zoo nearby. It won't be long."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="63243e02ecca0da55941711738d886e6""Alright... fine."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5d0fd1b10544464c8c827669c1cda11b"After lunch, the two ventured off to the Pittsburg Zoo. Vito was the majority of Joe's impulse control; he prevented him from throwing peanuts at the chimpanzees and flashing the polar bears. A tour guide lead them along, explaining just about everything to them. It started to bore Vito, but Joe was entertaining himself with teasing the animals./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ce4ee9727dcf6c9b90a7bf4d25944fb7""Joe," Vito started, watching Joe stare at the penguins, "do you ever think these animals wanna be here?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8184bc61fc93a4f1419178e8949a1772""They don't seem so bothered. Why do you ask?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="aa178304490525cef1767204592f164b""Well... I was this tiger wandering around in a circle inside his cage. You think that's normal? You think that's how a tiger really wants to live?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5281a05be137a7cc7173cffb65bd4e68"Joe shot an annoyed glance at Vito. "If you're gonna get existential, could you be a little quieter. The kids around here are gonna get self-aware."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c559284fd673f34e99cbbeeb269fac0b""I'm just sayin'," Vito continued, "sometimes I can relate to that tiger. Trapped in an endless loop, when it dreams about bein' free. Is that any way to live?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e4809c21074f8b5e0c1631f940026782""Vito."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="184826be0ea6837abb5851807f7a9e2b""What?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7abc40f4ef69c7ded843dece2d109822""You're fuckin' weird."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5383e1d518bfd43bdfa508de98f0722d"It was finally Joe's turn to drive, and while he did so, Vito took a two-hour nap. They were almost out of Pennsylvania when Vito awoke to Joe singing under his breath./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="dee10feacbf29a0c646d2a841e8373b6""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"'Cause I've got a pocket full of dreams.../em" He looked to the side to see Vito squirming awake. "em style="box-sizing: border-box;"It's my universe, even with an empty purse. 'Cause I've got a pocket full of dreams./em"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="05e99dc9fa6c65e58a998dc86f3701a4"It was up to Joe to sing shamelessly even when people were present in the car. Sober, drunk, all around. The man loved to sing, even though he sucked at it. Vito couldn't even erase the memory of him and Eddie singing along to em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Ritorna Me/em the night after going to the cathouse and burying Frankie Potts. Of all the things Joe did without without using his conscience, singing was the least destructive of them all./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="835a3c8490a6bc027aa1acd40b23ec56""Where are we now?" Vito asked, tiredly sitting up in his seat./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fbc044270cd08fb2c01c60ad1e586550""We're almost in Ohio." Joe answered. I just need to take I-79 onto the highway."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="13e696b778da70eced27e8f4feca0224""Great..." Vito shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How many times have you listened to this song?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e565ee1be3b5ccf21ec7ea7d5fbd4fad""Enough is never enough." Joe replied happily. "Bing Crosby is a fuckin' genius. His music speaks to the soul."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="74fb5132658a9f64c474d9514be8039a""How so?" For some reason, Vito regretted asking that./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="852c455cd8ccc26ae354df4abedff4b8""You just gotta listen to the lyrics," Joe explained, "and try to compare your life's struggles to what he's sayin'. Having a pocket full of dreams, you know? If you fill your pockets with dreams, no matter how poor you are, only are you truly wealthy. Then later on, the dreams that filled your pockets are gonna fill those same pockets with money."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b0e70af487befcc66709e174c666491e""That makes em style="box-sizing: border-box;"no/em fuckin' sense." Vito mumbled./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a2aa6cdc48a9cad6d652123cacb7c50b""You just ain't tryin' hard enough." Joe frowned. "You need to be creative."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fc0d0be13d71918fe7dd79646f7929d7""I'd rather think about somethin' else, thanks..." Vito rubbed his temples, trying to suppress an oncoming headache./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9ee0e40f546b7bf44dcc6806d7d1f85c""Hey, wanna play I Spy?" Joe asked mischievously./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="54cd051b4dec299a16aa19169bcf9534""No." Vito answered bluntly, furrowing his eyebrows./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f8789e05b75cb8aa198ec08598132300""I spy with my own eye," Joe proceeded against Vito's will, "some hot little mama in a red bikini on a billboard."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1ac0a4f9088050ac9f81b9e29dccdf35""Ugh, that's not how you play," Vito explained, "you can't be too specific! You have to give em style="box-sizing: border-box;"one/em characteristic and the passengers have to guess. If you tell them too much, it takes the fun out of it."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="16d180acd37d70a1d16e06f2f55ffb5a""What do em style="box-sizing: border-box;"you /emknow about fun?" Joe retorted./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ab1c6d6f44914177ca6b0b4566b2e3be""Alright, smartass," Vito shot back, "it's my turn. I spy with my own eye, something that is... fat."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="806dbb8050100db3dfc5720e5e2629f8""Huh... Go on."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="09eb76064560178191ec975458700dab""Something that is loud..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="309068b9ddc189eadff731153d76b5f7""I don't see nothin' that's fat and loud. Keep tryin'."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="da8c7384a2659ac55257504bac827c9d""Something that wears a red Hawaiian shirt." Vito grinned./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="859af7fccf10bdfdb91f93222ca6f77f"Joe bit his lip. "I still don't... oh, FUCK you!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fecaee08446d9a36ea5a1868daeb1e42"Vito snickered in a sarcastic manner before Joe punched him in the arm. With laughter and bruises, they had finally arrived in Ohio./p 


	6. Progress

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="12bf7758b0d8dad14e9f80d75d478c05""Here we are. This hotel should be the cheapest."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="557825e4ad7968702c0f20c703fc060a"The two had stopped in Cleveland Ohio, and booked a room in Travelodge. Once again, there was only one bed, but it was king-sized. There wasn't a couch, but on the bright side, the kitchen had a small area with a table, so they didn't have to lean over the kitchen counter to eat. The bathroom was medium-sized, and the TV was bigger than the one at their New York motel. Lo and behold, the hotel had a phone./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="487926f1cd8b150b6300d3ebb76d6c51""Thank the fuckin' Lord..." Joe sighed before flopping onto the bed. He bounced a little before speaking. "This feels so much better."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="02d8b23ea83bd83d13778b17d983ac36""I take it you're sleepin' on the bed?" Vito asked, crossing his arms. "I guess I'm sleepin' on the floor."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ed883d0673a722317105ab5dc47b5f9b""Vito, it's em style="box-sizing: border-box;"king-sized/em," Joe started, "you'll take one side and I'll take the other."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4b874fc772dc77366975ddb0b2923e1d""Are you nuts? I ain't sleepin' in a bed with you!" Vito was aghast that Joe would even suggest a thing./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f9647e1ae6ec66868e662d4dc3f2cdfe""It's one fuckin' night. Grow a pair." Joe sat on the edge of the bed to kick his shoes off. "Sweet fuckin' relief."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b0c404f78ca2a3d55bdf32e3b3845fdc"Vito turned around to look at his reflection in the vanity across the room. The dark circles under his eyes weren't as prominent as before, but he noticed some stubble. It was time to shave and clip his nails, it seemed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="554bce33fa65ebda2b8b55ebe311921b""I'll be makin' another phone call tonight." Joe began, rubbing his tired eyes. "I need to tell John where we are right now. He wants us to report the progress on our little trip. That way he knows when to prepare for our arrival."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8a3b3ae16a76deef922f168cdfc434a0""Prepare for our arrival?" Vito grew puzzled. "What? They gonna throw a surprise party for the both of us and celebrate our arrival with champagne and hookers?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="58cb77b0f6c11bc818411193ec9cda7a""Hah hah hah," Joe rolled his eyes, "very clever. He means preparing to do business. You know, give us a place to stay, line up some jobs, talk to Enzo. But if you em style="box-sizing: border-box;"really/em need to get your rocks off, his buddy Fernando can throw in a lil' somethin'-somethin' for us."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="198cf75800981dc78936f21c5c0ef8fe""No thanks." Vito sighed, sitting at the vanity./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6f5b4e354b321cd80647d829803fb9a3""You know, it sure has been a while since you and I got any ass." Joe grinned. "There's gotta be some services around here somewhere."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cc5af85a0fd06e576fc3a0f6e5ad60f1""Joe, it's fine. I can hold my libido, unlike you."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="14cd69956e9d1a542ab7f7f012135276"Joe laughed and threw his legs onto the bed, sitting up against the pillow. "You can take your shower first. I figured it would be fair."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fb24ec18a836770e54a882c506c12cc7"Vito entered the bathroom, which looked classy. At least it had a mirror, which the old motel didn't have. He stared at his reflection once more before stripping. Once he was down to the skin, he stared at his body. He was at his most muscular when he left prison, but he had dropped a few pounds and some muscle mass over time, due to the stress and turmoil. Night after night, up until this point, he'd skip meals because he couldn't keep anything down. Being a part of organized crime really took its toll on him, physically and emotionally./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3b6f1a351a7e3d68040ba35c43843b73"The shower was long, and hot, the steaming water leaving its bright pink imprint on his olive flesh. While bathing, he kept thinking about his time so far with Joe. Not even seventy-two hours, and they were already in another state, ready to work for some other guys that he'd never heard of. After having to deal with three different dons trying to kill him, he didn't know what to think of Enzo. Joe talked highly of him, yet Joe talked highly of a lot of people who seemed to disapprove of Vito's mere existence. If this was a risk Joe was willing to take, Vito decided with a heavy heart that he should follow along. Besides, if it wasn't for Joe, Vito didn't know where he'd be to this day. Perhaps breaking his back for Derek Poppalardo the same way his dad did before he passed on. His life would have been an endless cycle of bullshit, and while he didn't change it for better, he certainly gave it more flavor. A little more flavor than he prepared himself for at times.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="45d7f1ec55eb5b8f4fa7cb18768fa6ab"He dried himself off before standing in front of the mirror again, plucking the shaving cream out of the cabinet behind the bathroom mirror. Wetting his face, he started to lather up with the shaving cream. Strategically, he guided the razor along his skin, tapping the end of it on the edge of the sink. Once he was finished, he leaned over to splash the stuff away, revealing a fresh face./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9f38450a0356ab059c2f1d7430c6ed8d"Exiting the bathroom, in which steam poured from, he had a towel around his waist. He spotted Joe sitting at the vanity while using the telephone. Already, Joe had slipped out of his clothes and into his underwear./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="08c03091e25c64fc94a0b93ffdcdc94f""We're in Cleveland right now," Joe started. "Travelodge. It's pretty nice, but it ain't the most impressive. Yeah, he's still here."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f9e006623963d2b9d08af3319e0c088f"Joe spotted Vito standing there in just a towel before returning to the phone. "Oh, John, hang on a sec."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="60c00aca992662ce1e471318c8dfb2e1"He covered the end of the phone with his hand before speaking to Vito. "Did you change your mind about the hookers?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0b58394e4b73d5bf14f6d9e1254de555""No!" Vito mouthed silently./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8ca4c42f1a0a50ddb5a5446f73a8a482"Joe rolled his eyes and continued speaking to John. "He'll take a raincheck, but I'm still up for it! Heheh."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b2aafef9f1fec6792c6b26fdad8fed0d"Vito rolled his eyes and went to the closet. There had to be pajamas somewhere.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0215e2829e64dcdd5191e73bb26a4e68""We should be there Saturday, if not tomorrow. It took forever just to get out of Pennsylvania." Joe stood up from where he formerly sat. "I'll speak to you some more tomorrow. Ci vediamo." He hung up and faced Vito, who had succeeded in finding some pajamas./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="afeba71d5456d8ddfaa16aac987ad421""I'm fuckin' tired." Joe yawned. He stood at the edge of the bed to stretch before lying down and shifting under the covers. He turned his back to Vito, who quickly changed into the sleep wear while no eyes were on him. Facing the lamp, he put his hand under the shade before switching it off, thus filling the room with darkness./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="71a8ac406c29f7ada1b0ffa9614923b6"Hesitantly, he slid under the covers, trying to be as far away from Joe as possible while still getting enough mattress space./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b69e73ecc695810551da3a7c9a2a2ef3"He lay with his back facing Joe, staring at the wall. He couldn't complain, since the mattress was comfortable./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7cb84d826be2840ed462f56cf150b1b8""Vito," Joe started in a raspy voice, "Do you ever think that things could be different?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="be3993c305e28fc26255c971cc1962ca""Yeah." Vito responded quietly. "I think about it all the time. I ask myself 'what if this had never happened, what would my life be like today?' You know, shit like that."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ce318011e0d573332737511b296d8238""I wonder what would have happened if we never fought each other at the playground in elementary school. If the teachers had pulled us apart in time. You've gotten a hell of a lot better with your fists since then."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8d5eb7106d3252e9488e554b8f676235""Thanks." Vito shut his eyes. "So, ah... goodnight."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="602effe6725f9705d578537874d60591""Buona notte. I'll seeya in the morning."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="19f51dd740c7e0808ef5059f0413af46"The two drifted off to sleep as the clear night awakened, exposing the various stars in the sky. Orion's belt appeared majestically, while the Northern Star faced the direction where the two friends' journey would continue./p 


	7. Rude Awakening

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The golden light of the morning sun poured through the window and onto the bed, where the two friends slept./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Only, overnight, the way they slept had gradually changed. Vito and Joe lay on two separate sides of the bed, their backs facing one another. They had their own personal space where they could succumb to slumber comfortably. But once the light hit their bedroom and all could be seen, they would be met with a surprised./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The inside view of Vito's eyelids went from a darkened abyss to an alerting shade of orange. He struggled to open his eyes as his lashes magnetized together. Only, something felt off./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"An unusual weight pressed down upon him, holding him against his will in a way. There was a consistent rhythm of warm seeping down his neck, as well as a presence behind him. He tried to move, but felt restricted under the weight. After enough wiggling, the unfamiliar weight shifted just slightly, followed by a relaxed grumble./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Vito had no idea what the hell was going on, and why this weight suddenly took a hold of him, but once he heard the grumble, something triggered in his brain and his eyes shot open./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Dreading just what could be behind him, he'd begun to regretfully turn his head, then upper body. Once he did, he was greeted with a sight he thought he'd never see./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"And there he lay, with his arm slung over Vito's torso, body pressed against his back, breathing down his neck; a sleeping Joe./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Vito felt his heart skip a beat. Joe was spooning him, and it wasn't some half-assed attempt. He had his arm locked around Vito, up close and personal, his lips against his neck. This was real spooning, the kind that only lovers did./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He attempted to wiggle free from Joe's iron grasp, expecting him to loosen up a but. He got a completely different response in return, for Joe's hold on Vito tightened, followed with nuzzling his face into the nape of his neck./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Vito felt a cold shock run up his spine as he shivered, but his cheeks burned with this unexpected affection. What was Joe dreaming about? Would it be best to wake him up or let him enjoy his deep slumber?/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"It would only get more awkward if Vito let this keep happening, so he made the choice to awaken the beast./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Joe." he started, nudging him. "Joe, wake up."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Joe snorted heavily in response, licking his lips. Vito grit his teeth before rearing his leg up and kicking Joe in the shin./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Joe!" he barked. "You fuckin' deaf? WAKE UP!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Joe flinched when Vito kicked him, and he withdrew his arm and turned over to rub his eyes. "Ah... god damn, I'm up...!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Once he was freed, Vito slid out of bed and onto his feet. Joe sat up so he could pull his leg to his chest. "Fuck... why'd you kick me?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Are you serious?" Vito retorted in a flabbergasted manner. "You were huggin' me like a goddamn teddy bear!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Huh...?!" Joe squinted at his friend. "Me? Hugging you?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Lemme correct myself; spooning. You were em style="box-sizing: border-box;"spooning /emme. And you weren't faking it either. You had me pinned against you like an electric chair."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Joe felt his stomach drop before rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, shit, um..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Look," Vito started, "I get you're feelin' lonely because you haven't had a hooker in your bed in not even three days, but don't take it out on me. I'm nobody's bitch."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Vito's scathing remark gave Joe a feeling equivalent to being socked in the throat./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I'm getting dressed." Vito started. "After breakfast, we're hitting the road."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You got it." Joe answered in a tone far from charismatic./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Vito took his fair share with driving while Joe sat by his side, staring out the window. His leg still throbbed with the sensation of Vito kicking him awake. But that's not the only thing that hurt./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""One thing's for sure," Vito started, "my neck ain't as sore as it was sleepin' on a mat."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Joe glanced at him, giving a small "hmm" before returning to his thousand-mile gaze./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Somethin' on your mind?" Vito asked, seeing the distress on his friends face. "I thought you'd be more excited about getting to Chicago."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Eh," Joe shrugged, "just didn't sleep that well. Was havin' a weird dream."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Really?" Vito grinned. "It felt like you were havin' some sweet dreams, there."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Hah." Joe's tone became sour, which s involuntarily. "Real fuckin' funny."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""What's your problem?" Vito asked, noticing the massive shift in Joe's voice. "You've been acting like a cock all morning."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Cock? That's new." Joe brought his hand to the radio to turn on some music. Hopefully, that would stall the incessant yammering./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Vito rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyways, the next interstate highway is up ahead. We keep going this way and we'll end up in Indiana."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Joe nodded, shutting his eyes and letting the music sink into his ears. Vito caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, and wondered just what was going through his friend's mind. Who had once been real excited about the trip, now bitter and distant./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Hey, Joe." Vito softened his tone a bit. "You've been actin' weird all mornin'. If you wanna talk to me, just do it. I'll listen."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""It's nothin' to be concerned about," Joe responded, "just in a bad fuckin' mood. I'm only human. It happens."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yeah, fine." Vito thought a moment. Was Joe's frustration triggered by a morning event? If so, what could it have been? It couldn't have been from when they were back at Travelodge when Vito kicked him in the shin to wake him up. Although, that's when he acted weird. Nah, it couldn't have been that.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"On second thought, maybe it was./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I'm sorry I woke you up so rudely." Vito started. "I know you were probably dreamin' about one a' ya hookers, since you ain't got any in a while. But, you were crushin' my ribs. Once we're off the highway, we'll go eat and maybe walk around. My legs are startin' to cramp up."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Joe looked over at his friend, who attempted to give a kind smile. "This ain't the most fun ever, but we're gonna try to make the most of it. We'll be havin' a fun time in Chicago as promised, we'll make big dough."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"As Vito spoke Joe's exact words, the other man listened. He noticed how Vito was contradicting his own logic and beliefs with these statements, be it just a way of getting Joe to lighten up./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yeah, you're right." Joe replied. "I just needed to hear that from you."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"With that, the two made it onto I-70./p 


	8. Sweet Home Chicago

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d98232103f81e0b6fc98630bea793040""We met our goal. Finally!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="dd4df72217362b9c09da428526985015"Within a day, the two had made it to Chicago. The bright lights and liveliness of the city didn't lie. They thought the Big Apple was the city that never slept; logic proven wrong./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f8b7cca9ad1166ca94301d0cc73436e7""I could get used to this place." Joe started. "You know how much shit we could get away with here?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3fd37fd1121ec0ee999966174a56c357""Keep your head out of your ass." Vito replied. "We still haven't met don Enzo yet. We can't be gettin' into too much trouble."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a5288802503be0588e4eb9c7af3cd339"Joe remembered the address by heart. Vito shifted his eyes from Joe to the road, to the lights and buildings. They were definitely in Chicago. There was no denying it. The place was more lit up than Empire Bay on a good night./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="55611882394ed8900395fe9b34587414"There was a rather tall hotel building, the majority of the windows emitting golden light through the glass. Vito turned his attention back to Joe, who'd paused at a red light./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7601893cdafe023e539cefb2fe004e98""Up there," Joe started, "that's where he wants to meet up with us."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f81d9425c63954dda41432965ab4547a""A hotel? That seems fair." Vito shrugged. It was practical, but low-profile. No one would know of their business amongst the various musicians, showgirls, and movie stars resting - or partying - in their hotel rooms./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ad0211fbe0a6ba097ce6ae260f7cc1db""He's on the top floor." Joe made a right hand turn into the hotel's parking lot. Vito kept his eyes on the building, and had a sudden realization./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="655b0365ab75b935991023e818be0e74""Joe." he began. "I've been thinking..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d546e4ca77be206b5bdaf2bedf013251""Yeah?" Joe peaked from the corner of his eye vaguely. He was anticipating that Vito would begin an important conversation; something of compassion? Hope? He had to wonder what was on his friend's mind nowadays./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="267074307f4f17a12d7e4bc5de031b29""What will don Enzo think when he sees us driving a stolen rental car?" Vito asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="027f98b28ff64033d1a12990fa7f2c9e"Joe scoffed. "He'll hook us up with a nice ride, of course! You think somebody like him will let us drive around in a turd like this?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="32154e712ebad37b77d577961ad8d1b8""Good question." Vito replied. "I don't fuckin' know."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="de16a82dd2d6dc54ad492ce5ec96da7d"They parked their car near the hotel and got out, the two of them looking up at the awakened tower before them. Vito could dimly remember the Empire Arms Hotel. Indeed, it was tall. Over twenty floors. But this hotel in particular surpassed that amount./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1d54b386c2fd583acde67e35ebb09f8b"The friends found themselves staring at the building in awe, before they snapped into attention. Joe was the first to speak./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c970a3fe5a6322798ff94d8c252b2c52""Let's go." Joe started forward, Vito following behind. Pushing through the revolving glass doors, they were finally in the hotel lobby. The floors were tiled with a faux gold texture, almost as if they were in a mall. There was a receptionist over in the corner of the room, to which Joe wandered over./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d9cf04007b2c1ae5f73d1a31aa9a7a58"Vito walked close behind him, and muttered. "You know what you're doin'?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="29363666f29639cdd9e085a31f75c00b""Of course! Quit worryin'!" Joe assured his friend. "John told the receptionist about us. He's expectin' our company."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d113d5a48b186c032e0c6a4eba2e3d03"Vito figured that it would be best not to constantly question his best friend's motives. If they were free men, this meant he'd have to just relax and go with the flow./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6cf12a079bdcec57454369452e58327b""Hey, sweetcheeks," Joe started while leaning over the desk and staring lustfully at the young secretary, "we're here to see John Silvia is expectin' us."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="91ac36c2c46a4b8a3240afa680b50a8c""Oh?" the secretary smirked. "What's your name, darling?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ae15347c5a6075b1d5b0125149a98826""The name's Joe Barbaro," he started, "and this's my friend Vito Scaletta."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="395db29ce67e8f357618aec512eafd41""John is on the top floor, room 9014. He's been waiting quite a while." She smiled sweetly before Joe and Vito ventured off./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="af35123ca4ffdee2b583bccdb1a58e1c"They entered the elevator, and Joe pressed the button at the very top. The metallic doors slid shut and the movement upwards began. Vito leaned with his back against the wall and hung onto the bars. Moments passed and the doors finally opened, letting the two men out. However, just as they stepped forward outside of the elevator, a group of happily screaming showgirls dressed as flappers with feathery scarves and hairpieces poured out from one of the corridors and into the elevator, pushing past Vito and Joe like they were nothing. The pair of friends jumped to the side as politely as they could, letting the chipper women through./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f32af65da4982a9cd4c1201ba5a51cb9""Jesus fuckin' Christ..." Vito muttered. Joe laughed and went to take his disoriented friend by the shoulder to lead him down the hall./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fe788f36abd90e59090b0983ecf7ffcb""HEY, you broads!" A gruff voice was heard booming down the hall. "Quit your fuckin' screaming before I tear you's a new one!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d6ee220b4d0eb0a02e48da96f92f67fd"Vito's and Joe's eyes shot forward, and they completely forgot about the giggling hoard of girls shutting the elevator doors. As they left she floor, the sound of free-spirited laughter disappeared./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="979df1d4554809c3ed8d9357fc50716d"Someone had appeared at the other end of the hall. A tall man, wearing a blue suit, designed for a cowboy. He looked like he came out of a costume party. His features were dark, and he had some stray pink feathers on his suit, supposedly from being around the showgirls./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d915191ed580323d596de6bee78d9dce""Joe?!" he called out. "Is that you?!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5475d075ff2adc627ba43f5bd39c6474""Hey, Johnny!" Joe shouted in return, walking towards him with his arms out. "Aren't you gonna give me a hug, you crazy bastard?!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="654bdd3b2f34fbe5bfd5146a9bdfb40d"John sprinted down the hallway before Joe caught him, lifting him a foot off the ground. John pounded him on the back, laughing delightfully. Vito watched as the two men reunited in a friendly embrace before Joe put him down. He'd just seen John from afar, but up close, he could see the aging on his face. He must have been in his late thirties, a few scars on his face. He had a gold tooth, and Vito could tell due to how wide his smile was./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="61005b4eafdefc2b679a4a227e0acc8a""How're you doin', fatty?" John asked, caressing Joe's shoulders./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="08aed9020ae1dbf1117eaf04aaba3ca8""Lost a few pounds actually," Joe corrected him. "Maybe gained a few back. I need to get back on that South Beach diet you boys put me on!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1f454eccf2f808e167e868589fd7c12a""You'll shed that shit off while you're partyin' with all these broads!" John chuckled before turning his head to meet Vito's gaze. "Is this the jailbird?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1ec5b68aa76de57aa5366f60f4c9191e""Yeah," Joe started. He put a hand on Vito's back and brought him forward. "This is my old pal, Vito. Vito, this is John. Don't let the outfit fool you. He ain't no cowboy."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="113bdfe047c1634f1c983004a6c42862""You're not wrong!" John laughed. "Been a city slicker my whole life. I just got out of a costume party with a group of broads. You seen 'em runnin' in the hallway?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3cfa66579b72a86e99520b97b9c68f06""Yeah..." Vito shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "A stampede of them came down the hallway, shoved us out of the way and took the elevator down."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9126417e9a2a6c49093af8fa686edb9f""Shoved you?" John repeated. "Fuck, I'm sorry fellas. The showgirls here can get out'ah control. I'll line 'em up with ass-whoopings later. One by one, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!" /emJohn swung his hand in a gesture to imitate a spanking motion./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4b3cc0a23613dd3f74f1629839154dc2"Joe had been laughing. "You really know how to handle these broads!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="facdfba532409a8bb6e6082cb0154166""It's hard when Fernando keeps giving them crack!" John complained. "It's like feeding sugar to a fuckin' toddler. They go apeshit!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a3909d13c5408a45f7be922937394534""Shit, he's still on that stuff?" Joe asked. "Shouldn't he be dead by now?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="58479c002e8919caa20b7231127aa414""Nah, he detoxed." John answered. "He just makes business off of it now. He lost thirty pounds, his teeth, a kidney. The kidney because he got shot. He looks better now, I guess. I can't tell the difference. He always looks like shit to me!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="605a79aba7211687a8a45214fdf0553b"Joe and John kept laughing before Vito cleared his throat. "Hey, ah... I heard we could talk to your don. Enzo, was it?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a77d8298b44206f3702bd82c76a8eaac""Oh, shit!" John slapped his own forehead. "I forgot, that's what you fellas are here for! Unfortunately, you can't meet him yet, but Greg is downstairs. He didn't think you'd be here today, so try not to give 'im a heart attack."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5fbc39d92fbe82a104b1506074dfa759"The three men ventured into the elevator, now bereft of drugged up showgirls. However, they left their trail of feathers, as a way to mark their territory./p 


	9. Two Peas in a Pod

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ca8889f9e5f882a449e7df61888f6bf9""Greg! GREGORY!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ad3d15a7751c3b3fe97d9f710d71c58e"John hollered across the room. Clearly, his friend wasn't paying any attention to him. From afar, Greg appeared to be a little older than John, maybe by a decade. His hair was grayer and his posture hunched over slightly. He appeared to be talking to three gorgeous women, throwing in some smooth pick-up lines./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8309c4d7b664498c5cc25887cadd8495""That deaf motherfucker wouldn't hear a train comin', even if it DROVE ITS WAY UP HIS ASS. GREGORY, I'M FUCKIN' TALKING TO YOU!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1cc7c9cbb78f61591dd0746b6faa709d"The older man started to turn around, his eyebrows furrowed. He was clearly a annoyed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0529b5792f5f840cdb99510248dbd6da""What?!" Greg shouted back at John, holding his ear. Vito squinted, and saw what appeared to be a hearing aid lodged in there./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="24569e87097a51662407dae2663dbe3d""HAVE YOU HEARD A DAMN THING I'VE SAID IN THE PAST FIVE MINUTES?!" John roared. Vito flinched and covered his ears. John's booming voice was enough to be heard from China./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cdb11c6e9853656cdbf1bafa09bf9af5"Greg walked towards him, gritting his teeth, ready to give him a tongue-lashing. However, before he managed to get a word out, his eyes set upon Joe./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="8b10b9236da052f330d7c369fbb5ee56""Hang on a sec... Joe?" Greg was astonished at the man's presence. He looked to John. "You didn't tell me he was gonna be here this early, Shitter! I would'a cleaned up the hotel and gotten rid of all these whores runnin' around!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="13cd4ff09501c27c56fd972bdbe7fc8b""Hey, you knew they were gonna be here any day! Besides, these whores practically live here!" John argued with him. "And why do ya gotta pick a fight about it? Just greet the sons a' bitches already!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="421cc9739b11e28e40dc145eb364934b"Greg turned back to Joe. "I'm glad you're here, even though you damn near gave me a heart attack, kid." He looked up and down at Joe. "Always a fatass..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9c5ba8afabbe3514b9c24c69e55219c3"Joe rolled his eyes. "You two really gotta remind me? Jeez..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="087568fb106de1b7096468dbaa1684a9""Ah, we're just playin' with you, Tubby." Greg smacked Joe on the arm playfully. "I heard you brought a friend with you. Where is he?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="be10adc98b437114ed733f66f88e6eb4""He's standin' right next to you!" John scoffed. "Jeez, you gone half fuckin' blind now?" John grabbed Vito by the shoulders, causing the younger man to flinch. "This is em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Vito/em. You hear me? em style="box-sizing: border-box;"VIIIIIITO. SCALETTAAAAAA. /emYou see him? This guy right here?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3c6e058fac84c42d24e3fc2a24f99445""Would you stop bein' an asshole for one moment?" Greg snapped back at him. "I ain't gettin' younger!" Greg faced Vito, who looked rather confused and out of place. "The name's Greg. Greg Castanzo. Nice to meet you, Vito."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="28089a0fe85c2a56c486fc68e6e81706""You too, Greg." Vito could still feel John's fingers digging into his arms, and involuntarily hunched his shoulders. He wasn't a fan of being touched by those he didn't know./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="468b55c48f033de6565ee411ba2a982f""John, you're makin' him uncomfortable. Let him go." Greg was the first to notice Vito's body language./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b7dbf77afd08b19507af8f94585bd93f"John released Vito, who let his arms relax. Vito looked between the two. They sure did know each other, and in more than a business way. The manner of which they spoke signified they were best friends, much like himself and Joe./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="03216108eb809086173ad82a1f8876cc""So what's first on our to-do list?" Vito asked, wanting to get business out of the way. Already, he was uncomfortable./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cfa7096c4526222386c919a7fe3e21bf""We've got someone whose head's screwed on right!" John began. "Already, he wants to get shit done."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="344f33a5a91463199aa0189cda2ac0c9""That's Vito for you." Joe pat his friend on the back. "He's been talkin' about meeting don Enzo."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7cd1e561a3c2cac71641de01637445c5""Enzo? Ah, he'd out in Nevada right now." Greg answered. "Some business-related shit. That's why we've been watching over the hotel, keeping it nice and tidy."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="53264eb85c87ba1851c0e23a2bce28a9""And by 'nice and tidy' he means infested with hookers and musicians!" John laughed. "Of course, it was em style="box-sizing: border-box;"my/em idea to throw this large of a party."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e64b8f4969d3e9129f46d675728079cf""And it's fucking everything up!" Greg shouted. "Always, always, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"always/em when the boss is away, you gotta throw these gigantic parties, and I gotta clean up after you!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e38be0a6d56e28479153ba86b16c3957""By that, you mean calling in a cleaning crew!" John argued with his friend incessantly. Vito and Joe stood idly as the two older men barked at each other. Their voices clashed in a chaotic whirr of anger, but it wasn't violent whatsoever. They fought in a friendly manner, tossing profanity back and forth. Vito turned his head to look at Joe, smirking. His friend could feel his gaze and glanced back, imitating the same expression. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="94aa2a7f75feab120fc884ada1216bdd"The four of them sat down that night for a good dinner, which was something Vito and Joe hadn't been given the privilege of having for a few days. The special that night was steak, with a side of fries. Beverage? Coca-Cola./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0434814eadfbb05b4b942ba35c8e7d6a""This is really good." Vito started. "Thank you, guys." A hot meal was something he'd dreamt about, especially steak. He looked to the side and noticed Joe digging in maniacally. It seemed as though he was more grateful for the meal than Vito was, judging by how he ate it like it was his last meal on Earth./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bd64800cf0da10037b3693f8fb8a2e3c""You don't need to thank us." Greg began. "It's gonna be part of your life, kiddo." He took another bite of his steak. Meanwhile, John was already done with his dinner, and had begun guzzling down his drink./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f129fbab72b51a0ffc2c2aeb271426b7""So, is it true?" Greg asked Vito. "Did Carlo really fuck you guys over?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d92fda2fd54b775096779fb645a27a1a""Yeah." Vito confirmed. "We were in his family for a good few months, before one of our good friends died, and ah..." He had to scour his mind for precise details. Vito had already begun recovering from the immense trauma, which involved him pushing things into the back of his mind, but his memories had begun to stall when he remembered Henry's death./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="43db61dbc9ff5e9a3b12baf87d2745b0""Who's the friend?" Greg asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="45c6a964e2004c268c8a361870e1ab3e""Henry Tomasino." Vito answered. His heart sunk just speaking his name and recalling his face./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="df39fe1a0ee1c1a1e22792814f5080d7"The second his name left his lips, John spat his drink, startling everyone at the table. "HENRY?" he gasped. "Falcone had Henry KILLED?!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7abd59d7f88b5aae880c39c7278c0531""Not exactly." Vito sighed. "You see... Henry got Joe and I in on a drug deal sort of business just to pull in some extra dough. It was fun for a while and I felt like Joe and I were just starting to get close to him as a friend. Until one day we went to the park for a chat with him, and there he was; lying on the ground screaming while the Triads mercilessly chopped him to pieces with meat cleavers. In broad daylight. In front of civilians and their families."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f5cc58a8e651ee48fb33f6c0f36bb4fc"Greg's eyebrows had traveled all the way up to his forehead, as John's jaw seemed to drop all the way down to his collarbone. There was a moment of silence before Vito took in a deep breath./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0c45b44c17914abc98db85d750764209""Joe and I, lack of a better term, went apeshit and sprayed the Red Dragon with bullets, and killed their leader, Mr. Wong." Vito exhaled. "He stole the money off of Henry's corpse. It was the money we owed to Bruno, a loan shark in the city. We borrowed some dough to get the business off the runway, and we were gonna double the profits and pay him back the other half of the borrowed money. When we confronted Wong, he said the money was gone. And em style="box-sizing: border-box;"somebody/em–" Vito glanced at Joe with an exasperated expression. "–blew his brains out before we were gonna get more information out of him."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c95305efef85c0e9b5e40dc3d98fa269""I see." Greg sat back and crossed his arms. "Where does Carlo come in?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="713f746212a99ae1ca4a655470c5d887""Well," Vito continued, "Carlo found out about Henry's little drug deal one way or another and demanded us give him a cut of what we got. The day we were all gonna meet up in the park, we were about to talk about just that, but lo and behold we were greeted with, not Henry, but a mashed up puddle of blood and guts that used to be Henry."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="372275c5a1c30b1995a321fe98a8c7f4""Jesus Christ on a pogo stick," John started in disbelief, "the fuckin' chinks know no fuckin' discretion."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bf60f95a7c6164838b60984e2b0648c7""You're not wrong." Vito proceeded to tell them the story. "After we killed half the Chinese population in Empire Bay, I went and got the dough myself - and don't ask how I did it, that's another story for a different day. I got what I needed, went to get Joe, and found out that he was kidnapped by Vinci's guys. Apparently, the rest of the Tongs started threatening Carlo and Frank, so Frank got his hands on the two guys he thought were easy targets, aka myself and Joe. He beat Joe to a pulp, we escaped, I took Joe to El Greco and the next day came, and it was a day I'll never forget."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="17439f72f1b2d0e7ca4ef86f6385a90c""It's good to know you all had each others' backs." Greg grinned. "Go on."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="260cc86b59e46f8f409d2087504829f9""I was picked up by Leo." Vito spoke. "He told me that Henry was a rat, and that he'd been leaking our drug business to the Feds. All because we avenged him, it was causing a war. So, Leo gave me an ultimatum; kill Carlo, or die. I chose the former."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cf4007991ddfc0c9cf34957c9f6393ea"Joe had lost his appetite halfway through the story. He'd put down his fork and put his hands in his lap while Vito spoke of the harsh event. His head lowered, and his eyes fell./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b990f678453b1a586f3e4f7631751ca1""Joe was about to blow my brains out when I finally reached Carlo. But thank God, he fought by my side. We killed Carlo, got out of there, and Leo was waiting for us outside. I got in one car, Joe got in the other. Before I knew it, the car carrying Joe drove off in a different direction. I knew somethin' was wrong when that happened. They were tryin' to split us up. Be it Carlo's or Leo's idea, I'll never know. But, I lost respect for both of them that day. I should have just put a bullet through Leo when I had the chance."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="bc8e9ca2040e1adeb2b1f4b381d27ae9""So why didn't you?" Greg asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="394a47e0942d0054ae8ccc9214f78eb7""He and I had a history." Vito confessed. "I went to prison for six years, and he wad there to teach me a few things about combat. If it weren't for him, one of the inmates would'a beat the life out of me. He was like a father to me, so... this whole thing shook me in a way."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6751530953362bca7507e2ee57c4abf2""In this business, heartbreak is gonna happen." Greg spoke. "There's nothin' you can do. People are gonna stab you in the back, it'll hurt a lot."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fe7a29f9259567f9fc09050a5b3713bc""Oh, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"I know/em." Vito furrowed his eyebrows. "I learned my lesson." With that, Vito arose from his eat and withdrew a Magnum from his pocket before putting bullets through both Greg's and John's foreheads./p 


	10. Remembrance

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="699e67844522f4a8cd27f09e0cc228da""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Agh!/em"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0f421377250cc367797349a365c73a03"Vito shot up from the bed, drenched in a cold sweat. What the hell had he dreamt about?/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="01a8a79f52877afed17cb510d5e1e4c8""Jeez, you were havin' one hell of a fuckin' nightmare." Joe started. "You all right?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="41ddb5ea3bb04f3f3046b21ba5ceabcd"Vito held his chest and breathed heavy, laboring breaths. "Y-yeah, I guess..." He wiped his hand across his forehead. "Christ... I need some water..."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="325555e259072908fb6c3f54398efed1""Hang on." Joe stood from where he sat and went to retrieve his friend a beverage. Vito stared at the wall, trying to regulate his breathing with his hand clamped against his chest. He could feel his heart ramming against the inside of his ribcage much like a bull trying to bash its way through a brick wall. The dream was still fresh in his mind; he'd been having dinner with John, Greg, and Joe. Greg had asked Vito all about what happened to Carlo, Vito willingly explained, and then.../p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5d1475d3d24aa89d0ee92750d9a1af8d""Here you go." Joe handed Vito the glass of water. "What the hell's goin' on through your brain?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="75b52427c8391779181657d03bb2f65d"Vito shrugged before taking slow gulps from the glass. After he was done, he withdrew it from his lips and set it down./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="caea9d08eea09d1f68b3d11694d33476""I just had the craziest dream..." Vito sighed. "By the way, where's John and Greg?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5d3c9f6ba2d8da86ffdaa88a1550ee0c""They're downstairs." Joe answered. "Probably playing poker or some shit."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c55b3bad61e185f78c6a37f474790a46""When did we end up here?" Vito asked. He couldn't recall the journey up to one of the hotel rooms./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cca832be2783481d8fe2665524b4e146""After we met the two of them," Joe explained, "you told me you was exhausted from the trip and needed to take a nap. We got a room the furthest away from all the commotion, and the first thing you did was hit the bed like a sack of potatoes."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a71ec796c0c0c22a1055fc25225dcdd5""Huh." Vito sighed and sat back against the pillow. "I'm going crazy."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7aa042b58d58ce45c8437478ee06e443""Not the first time I've heard that!" Joe laughed. Vito simply gave him an exhausted look, which caused Joe to settle down./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0a9a75e6b08df75d84683ef2521172fc""I'm being serious." Vito continued. "I had a nightmare that we were all sitting around the table at dinnertime, I was telling Greg about what Carlo had done to us, and suddenly I shoot 'em both in the head."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="13f928aaae64cb1d312e5c0f8f50bb72""What the fuck?" Joe sat back in shock./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="34752e2348243c2e5a8fd49a9d52f3fd""Yeah." Vito looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe it's my paranoia, inability to trust anyone in this business... I just have this deep-seated desire to kill anyone who even tries to double-cross me or even you for that matter. Something that makes me want to kill anyone I even feel suspicious of, who may have the ability to stab us in the back with our guards down."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="82f1499d66dc732482303a86c658b34d""Vito, Vito," Joe began, scooting closer to put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "These guys aren't gonna fuck us."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1da9d43662fe70f016e2f149967f55f5""I know, you told me..." Vito covered his face with his hands, which were quite clammy. "I'm still shaken up from all the shit that's happened. I'm surprised you aren't too. I mean, I almost lost you em style="box-sizing: border-box;"several /emtimes. You think that'd break someone's trust, right?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6c0ebf772bdee359666ea78a1bc57a76"Joe opened his mouth, then shut it slowly out of defeat. Vito did make a good point, an admirable quality of his. His own friend made him second guess everything. While Enzo's guys seemed like the cool bunch - they practically took care of Joe while he was hiding out of Empire Bay - he did hear the logic in Vito's words. It took him long enough to let it settle in./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="384c8c2aa36800d174c7b8c78afc1a2b""I get it." Joe nodded. "I'm not as stupid as I look. I just want you to at least trust em style="box-sizing: border-box;"me/em and whatever I think is best for us."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2f6cb49908e1bd3aee7054572174f333""I do trust you." Vito looked over to his friend in disbelief. "You're great at what you do. I can't live without you, ya know. If anything, we've saved each others' asses more times than... I can't think of an analogy."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="dc0e1ce51273b90365664ea1ebe9b096""You scratch my back, vice versa." Joe grinned. "I assure you, if I catch wind of any funny business, I'll snatch you up and we'll be outta here in a flash."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6bd272058219fa12a418588356d3f86c""Thanks, Joe..." Vito sighed. He had been lying on his back at a slight angle, staring at the corner that connected the wall and the ceiling. Joe had taken a seat beside the bed, which made their conversation look similar to that of a therapist talking with his patient./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7f8200b1b0c89d7ddcf55f12b4fb1aa6""I remember," Vito explained, "in the dream, I was talking about Henry. I'd described his death in crisp detail."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="611fc433c5b29ebcbdf3025766f16e41""I miss him too." Joe interrupted./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e90783f6d0e896125e7904e88360c179""Yeah, well..." Vito shut his eyes and sighed. "I find it weird how much we miss him. He wasn't that close to us. I didn't like him em style="box-sizing: border-box;"that/em much, I mean, we were just workin' for him."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b73f3529c43833f064599433b04b491b""If he wasn't that close to us," Joe corrected him, "then why'd you go along with shooting up the Red Dragon in his honor?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ae7a60ebc6ae9d5944cabb1482625d01""I guess he was all right." Vito shrugged. "I still have mixed feelings about him. He never really opened up, and a lot of people painted him as a rat. Then again, I don't know who to believe."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="00c878dab2e568cb24ae90638888847e""I don't think he was ever a rat." Joe started up again. "Henry would em style="box-sizing: border-box;"never/em do that to us. You think all that laughing and drivin' around selling drugs and makin' good money was all for Henry just to fuck us over? If that was his intention, he would have broken our hands the second he shook 'em."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="338fa1ff9e82d0e216a56e704d8ae55f""This is all so confusing..." Vito shook his head. "I mean, he's dead now, finally at peace. If he did use us, what're we gonna do to him? We're not gonna beat his corpse."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3d6bfb2a277ba3462ec2c081bf1bf005""I hope Henry's at least at peace." Joe added. "As for Carlo and Clemente and all them other assholes? They'd better be rotting in Hell."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3176b2ff9899ca77b62b11b8ae69d42b""Amen to that." Vito grinned. "Anyways... I need to get up. I don't wanna doze off again and dream about laying siege to all of Chicago."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b67982a270f87438da04d555b9cf13ed"Joe stood to his feet and smoothed out his clothing. "I'll be in the hall havin' myself a cigarette. Come out when you're ready." He exited the hotel room and shut the door behind him, isolating his friend once more./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e81c5d9dbf0427469f05ee57d67a2ba2"Vito slid out of bed, and walked into the bathroom. It seemed as though with each hotel they settled in, they got nicer and nicer. Too bad their homes were just temporary./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f0d61919f696568f5f2869afcfbb04bd"He looked into the mirror and rubbed his cheeks. Dark circles sat beneath his eyes, his cornea glazed over with fatigue. Hopefully, a night of fun with Joe and the others would wake him up and lift his spirits./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="569c4cfddf5dd0ae917cd6559511c279"After he splashed some cold water on his face, he left the hotel room, leaving the bed's covers rumpled with the stress of an unruly nightmare./p 


End file.
